Mexico's President Felipe Calderón was on hand to open a cement plant built by Swiss construction materials company Holcim in Sonora state capital Hermosillo.

Through its local subsidiary Holcim Apasco, the firm invested some US$400mn to build the plant in the northern state, Holcim said in a release.

Holcim's seventh plant in Mexico will have the capacity to produce 1.6Mt/y and took three years to complete. The new facility will increase overall production to 12.6Mt/y, paper Milenio reported.

The plant was built under Holcim's sustainable construction model, which optimizes energy and water usage in its operations.

Among other measures, non-conventional thermal systems provide energy for lighting and temperature control, while water is re-circulated for cooling and all graywater is treated and reused for irrigation, the release said.